See All Urban and Residential Stormwater

While you may be familiar with the term, have you ever wondered what stormwater is?

Hydrographs are used by water managers to visually represent how stream flow is impacted by stormwater runoff.

Do you enjoy outdoor activities? Become a community scientist. First Investigation of Stream Health (FISH) monitors changes to local streams and their habitats.

Managing stormwater, reducing flooding, and improving water quality.

Learn about how to manage precipitation run-off and add to the aesthetic environment by building a suburban rain garden.

DCNR's new technical bulletin offers best practices for managing stormwater in Pennsylvania's karst regions to reduce sinkhole risks and protect groundwater.

Discover how Rain gardens capture stormwater, reduce flooding, filter pollutants, support wildlife, and beautify landscapes – great for homes and communities alike!

Learn how to design, size, and install a rain garden to manage stormwater and support native plants in your landscape.

Capture rainwater with ease! Preorder a rain barrel accessory kit from Penn State Extension to turn a plastic barrel into a simple, effective tool for conserving water and reducing runoff.

Establishing vegetated areas, or riparian buffers, next to streams and rivers will help absorb stormwater pollutants before they enter the waterway. Learn more about riparian buffer benefits by watching this video.

Stormwater credits offer the opportunity to reduce stormwater fees that may be charged by your local municipality.

The stormwater systems most of us take for granted are getting more expensive to design, construct, and maintain.

Sediment is a stormwater pollutant made up of soil particles detached from the land by erosion and is Pennsylvania's largest surface water pollutant by volume.

Live stakes are an increasingly popular way to repair eroding streams on a budget. However, moving plants always comes with the risk of spreading pests and diseases.

Transparency tubes are popular for use in stream monitoring programs. They are also part of the "First Investigation of Stream Health" activity.

A brief introduction and instructional guide to using live staking as an inexpensive and simple technique to restoring eroding stream banks.

Vegetated swales are contoured land areas or ditches covered in plants. They are designed to collect stormwater runoff and move it away from areas where it can't soak into the ground.

Trees adjacent to residential and commercial properties, parks, along roads, and in parking lots provide environmental, social and, economic benefits.

This restoration includes stabilizing and/or altering the stream channel to slow and direct the flow of water to reduce erosion and flooding.

Stormwater basins are the reservoirs built near developments to temporarily hold stormwater during rain and snowmelt. They prevent high volumes of water from rushing into nearby streams during storms.

Sediment barriers are temporary structures used around the edge of sites with bare soil. They are meant to separate any potential sediment pollution from stormwater that might flow off the site.

The adaptability of rain gardens makes it possible to fit them on urban and suburban sites where green space is limited.

These pervious surfaces are designed to allow snowmelt and rain to drain through the hard, but porous, top surface.

Native meadow plantings are meant to be low maintenance and, once established, only need to be cut back once or twice a year.

Stormwater is the water that runs off of houses, streets, parking lots, and other hard surfaces during rain events. It has been identified as a major cause of water pollution.